Inside STAT: How Silicon Valley's digital health firms rely on faraway coaches 

HYACINTH EMPINADO/STAT

Digital health companies are all the rage now. They tout using machine learning and other AI techniques to help patients with chronic illness monitor their conditions and flag individuals for more intervention. But what’s less obvious is that for all the tech talk, these companies rely on a steady army of “health coaches” — real people who are far away from the patients they’re helping stay on track. Take the example of Omada Health. Investors rave about the sleek monitoring devices for patients and the millions of data points the company collects to keep tabs on patient behavior, but the whole operation would fall apart without Houston-based DJ Moberly and others who spend much of their days exchanging messages with Omada patients, including encouraging them to eat healthfully. STAT’s Rebecca Robbins has more here.